Lillard and Antetokounmpo won an NBA Cup together. Now, the next challenge: chasing the big prize

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo stood side-by-side during the postgame celebration after the NBA Cup final. Antetokounmpo was holding the MVP trophy. Lillard was holding the bigger trophy.

And it was a moment that Lillard had waited a long time to savor.

He's been a rookie of the year, a 3-point contest champion, an All-Star MVP, even a member of the league's 75th anniversary team. And while his biggest goal is still winning an NBA championship, the significance of winning the NBA Cup was not lost on the 13-year veteran.

“I’ve had a lot of experience individually where I’ve had accomplishments and stuff,” Lillard said after the Bucks beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 97-81 on Tuesday night in the Cup final. “But to have some team success and win something and be the last team standing in this tournament, it feels great.”

The Bucks have a championship coach in Doc Rivers, the core of a team that won a title in 2021 — Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez, Bobby Portis and Pat Connaughton among them — and one of the game's elite guards in Lillard. Starting 1-6 and 2-8 this year might have raised some eyebrows, but the Bucks insisted that they never doubted themselves.

They've been one of the league's hottest teams since that awful start and rolled through the in-season tournament with a 7-0 record. Winning the NBA Cup might be a reminder — perhaps an unnecessary one — of the Bucks' potential.

“I think it reminds us that we can beat anybody,” Rivers said. “And we don’t care if it tells everybody else that. We only care about us. It’s what I said on the first day of camp. I also said we can lose to anybody if we don’t play right.”

Antetokounmpo and Lillard are leading the way, and that can't be a surprise.

Both are playing at their perennial All-Star level. They're the highest-scoring duo in the league, combining to average more than 58 points per game. They were the best two players on the floor in the NBA Cup final, Antetokounmpo getting a triple-double — 26 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists — on his way to MVP honors, and Lillard scoring 23.

Year 1 of their pairing after Lillard wound up in Milwaukee after 11 years in Portland wasn't perfect. It was good, not great. Year 2 is clearly better. It's another sign of what might be for the Bucks going forward.

“People wanted to put me with Giannis and think it was just going to be perfect right away because we’ve both been high-level players,” Lillard said. "But I come from a situation where I’ve always had the ball, and he’s had a decade of him having the ball and playing a certain way.

“I think time is the No. 1 thing,” he added. “It just took time for us to get to know each other better as people. You can’t just trust somebody that you’re paired with when you don’t really know who they are, how they think and how they operate. So, I think time has helped us.”

Time has helped Lillard as well.

He averaged 24.3 points and 7 assists per game last year. Those are all-world numbers for just about anyone. He didn't think much of how he played, though, and he never got to the point of feeling totally comfortable in a new role, a new place, with a new team.

He does now.

“Getting healthy, getting my training in and having my mind right coming back into the season was all it really was for me,” Lillard said. “When we lost in the playoffs last year, I said it right after the game. ‘People will see.’”

Seeing is believing.

There's still more than two-thirds of the regular season left. Cleveland — Milwaukee's first opponent when the Bucks return to regular-season play on Friday — and defending NBA champion Boston have clearly been the best two teams in the Eastern Conference to this point. There are tons of challenges ahead and there surely will be plenty of ebbs and flows.

“I’m so happy for Dame that we got our first trophy together,” Antetokounmpo said. “This is just the beginning. We have to keep on improving and getting better, and we will be better.”

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Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) bites his NBA Cup medal after his team's victory in the championship game of the NBA Cup basketball tournament against the Oklahoma City Thunder Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) shoots against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) during the second half of the championship game in the NBA Cup basketball tournament Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) drives against Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) during the second half of the championship game in the NBA Cup basketball tournament Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard (0) passes between Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort (5) and center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) during the second half of the championship game in the NBA Cup basketball tournament Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34), Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard (0), and Milwaukee Bucks center Brook Lopez (11) celebrate after their team's victory in the championship game of the NBA Cup basketball tournament against the Oklahoma City Thunder Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard (0) lifts up the NBA Cup while forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34), left, and center Brook Lopez (11), right, celebrate after their team's victory in the championship game of the NBA Cup basketball tournament against the Oklahoma City Thunder Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

KABAENA, Indonesia (AP) — The crystal blue waters that once surrounded Kabaena are murky brown now, and the octopi and colorful fish that locals used to catch nearby to eat and sell have fled. The lush seaweed they used to harvest is gone. And parents who grew up swimming happily in the Flores Sea now warn their children to stay out of the water for fear of itchy rashes or skin lesions.

The people of Kabaena — including Indigenous Bajau, a group that has traditionally lived near and relied on the sea — are among what experts estimate are thousands of communities around Indonesia where traditional ways of life have been devastated by the impacts of a rapidly expanding mining industry. Most of the materials mined in Indonesia fuel the international supply chain for stainless steel, electric vehicle batteries and more.

“All residents here have felt the impact,” said Amiruddin, 53, a fisherman who like many Indonesians uses only one name.

With the world's largest known nickel reserves and rich deposits of cobalt, bauxite and other materials, Indonesia has been experiencing a mining boom on demand for stainless steel, electric vehicle batteries and more that are needed for the global energy transition. The island nation has sought to expand its mining and processing capabilities while facing backlash from international and local watchdogs for various environmental concerns.

Across Indonesia, nickel processing plants sometimes sprawl just a few minutes from the sea, and barges ready to carry away nickel ore often dot the water. Some mines operate near schools.

Local communities and the natural environments around these mines can bear the burden of this intense demand. From 2001 to 2020, the world lost nearly 1.4 million hectares (about 3.5 million acres) of trees due to mining, with Indonesia having the highest loss, according to an analysis by the World Resources Institute.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is part of a series of on how tribes and Indigenous communities are coping with and combating climate change.

On Kabaena, over 3,700 hectares (9,140 acres) of forest — including protected forest — were cleared by mining companies between 2001 to 2023, according to data analysis by international environmental organization Mighty Earth. That deforestation has devastated the environment and livelihoods on Kabaena, said Amanda Hurowitz, a senior director at Mighty Earth.

Where fishers could once catch fish to sell or feed their families, the water is now filled with runoff sediment from mining activities and no fish are to be found. Fishers with boats must travel farther, using expensive petrol, and wind up with smaller catches that earn them less money. Those without boats often resort to eating the small shellfish they can find in the murky water around their homes.

“(I would) fish near there by setting a net,” Ilyas, 70, said while pointing in front of his home. “Now it’s far away before (fish) are found.”

Communities on land are experiencing the mines' impact as well: Sugar cane, palm and clove trees cultivated for food and income don't grow as well, with water sources used for crops tainted by mining activities, residents said.

“That’s the effect: The growth of the sugar palm trees will not be as good because of the influence of mining,” said Amal Susanto, 32, a palm sugar farmer in an area of Kabaena where exploration permits have been granted but mining has not yet begun. “I hope no mines around here, because our income will be impacted.”

Since the mines have opened, there's been a spike in residents complaining of itchy skin, sore throats and other health issues. Villagers no longer want to bathe or wash clothes in the water; when they do, they get itchy skin and rashes said Nina, 33, an Indigenous Bajau resident of Kabaena.

Lab results from samples of rivers, sea water, dust and shellfish from Kabaena taken by Satya Bumi, a nonprofit environmental organization based in Indonesia, in July and November showed hazardous levels of nickel, lead and cadmium — common mining byproducts.

Exposure to these metals at the levels seen in the lab samples could lead to cancer, cardiovascular, kidney and other chronic diseases, said Kathrin Schilling, an assistant professor at Columbia University who researches molecular biology and reviewed the lab results.

“If people on this island are using the river water as drinking water — which has higher levels of the metals — and then if they are also eating the shellfish and breathe the air ... you cannot escape basically any of the exposure to those toxic metals,” Schilling told AP.

The impact isn’t limited to Kabaena. Across the sea to the north, a nickel mine near the village of Torobulu pushes up against a tattered soccer field and nearby athletic courts.

The impacts and mining continue despite a March 2024 ruling by Indonesia's constitutional court that small islands such as Kabaena require special protection from abnormally dangerous activities, including mining, as they threaten ecosystems in vulnerable areas.

But Indonesia's government is still issuing mining permits for small islands, said Sayyidatiihayaa Afra, a researcher at Satya Bumi.

Since the constitutional court ruling, forest loss has continued on Kabaena, with 150 hectares (370 acres) cleared in areas approved for mining on the island since April 1, according to data analysis by Mighty Earth. Over half of the forest loss occurred in a concession owned by mining company Tonia Mitra Sejahtera.

Tonia Mitra Sejahtera did not respond to a request for interviews or comment. Mining company Anugrah Harisma Barakah — which caused the most deforestation on Kabaena, according to Satya Bumi — also did not answer the publicly listed phone number when AP made requests for interviews or comment.

Indonesia's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources did not respond to a request for comment.

Meanwhile, people on Kabaena say they feel helpless.

“What else can we do if the water is like this?” said Nina. "We’re small people — we can’t do anything. We have to surrender.”

Milko reported from Jakarta.

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Murky brown water is visible near nickel mining activities that surround Baliara village on Kabaena Island, Southeast Sulawesi, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Yusuf Wahid)

People walk through Baliara village on Kabaena Island in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Yusuf Wahil)

A nickel mining site is visible on Kabaena Island in Southeast Sulawesi, on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Yusuf Wahil)

Students head to school as a hill that has been mined for nickel ore is visible in the background on Kabaena Island in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024,. (AP Photo/Yusuf Wahil)

Barges loaded with nickel ore are anchored off Kabaena Island in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Yusuf Wahil)

A nickel processing plant sits in Mapela village on Kabaena Island, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Yusuf Wahil)

A man walks above murky brown water near nickel mining activities on Kabaena Island in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Yusuf Wahil)

Dhany Alfalah, a researcher for Satya Bumi, a nonprofit environmental organization, collects dust samples from a house on Kabaena Island in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Yusuf Wahil)

Dhany Alfalah, a researcher with Satya Bumi, a nonprofit environmental organization, shows dust samples collected from a house on Kabaena Island in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Yusuf Wahil)

Nina, 33, a member of Bajau Tribe, poses for a photograph on Kabaena Island, in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Yusuf Wahil)

Amal Susanto makes palm sugar at his house on Kabaena Island, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia, Friday, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Yusuf Wahil)

Amal Susanto makes palm sugar at his house on Kabaena Island, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia, Friday, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Yusuf Wahil)

Amal Susanto collects sap from a palm tree to make palm sugar on Kabaena Island, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia, Friday, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Yusuf Wahil)

People play soccer as heavy machines operate at a nickel mine in Torobulu, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Yusuf Wahil)

Fish are laid out in Baliara village on Kabaena Island, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Yusuf Wahil)

Ilyas, 70, who has been complaining of itchy skin rashes, sits for a photograph at his house on Kabaena Island near nickel mining activities in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Yusuf Wahil)

Ilyas, 70, who has been complaining of itchy skin rashes, checks on his dried fish at his house on Kabaena Island near nickel mining activities in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Yusuf Wahil)

A nickel mine is visible on top of a hill above a village on Kabaena Island in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Yusuf Wahil)

Murky brown water is visible near nickel mining activities that surround Baliara village on Kabaena Island, Southeast Sulawesi, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Yusuf Wahid)

Murky brown water is visible near nickel mining activities that surround Baliara village on Kabaena Island, Southeast Sulawesi, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Yusuf Wahid)

Children play in the water on Kabaena Island in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Yusuf Wahil)

Children play in the water on Kabaena Island in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Yusuf Wahil)

A boy looks out from the window of his house on Kabaena Island in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Yusuf Wahil)